Guide to Finding California Child Support Lawyer

Divorce is a common fact of 21st Century life, but just because our relationships to our spouses end, that doesn’t mean we want our relationships to our children to end. We know rationally that the failure of a marriage doesn’t mean that the parents love their children any less, yet going into a family court, it may seen that a parent is being punished for their marital failings. Legally, this should never happen. To make sure that the family court system works for you, contact a California child support lawyer and be confident that a child support settlement is reached that is best for both the parents and their children.

What Is Child Support?

Child support is the amount of money that one party is ordered to pay another every month for the expressed purpose of supporting a child. The party being paid is typically the parent or legal guardian with whom the child lives, called the obligee. The party paying the other, usually a parent who does not live with the child, or sometimes a government agency, is called the obligor. Both parties have the right to hire a CA child support lawyer, and both usually do.

How Is Child Support Calculated?

Child support payments are ultimately decided by the judge preceding over the particular family law case. Before a ruling is made, a California child support lawyer will work with their client to determine what the best child support amount is that the obligor is reasonably capable of. The amount that is decided will then be taken to the other parent and their California child support lawyer, discussed and debated. If an agreement is made, then it will be taken to the judge who will probably approve. Remember, however, the judge has the right to throw out any child support agreement brought before the court and establish a new one.

In general, child support can be generally estimated by looking at a formula. Though the formula is general, it is also complex. The number ultimately estimated for child support is based on the number of children which the child support payments cover, the number of other dependents or “hardship children” claimed by the obligor, the tax information of both parties, the monthly income information of both parties, the time spent with the child by the obligor as calculated as a percentage and those goods which the child support payments are meant to afford (is it just food, clothing and welfare or other goods which should be shared between both parents, such as child care, traveling expenses, private school tuition, or health care?).

The State of California has put a child support calculator online where you can put in your tax, income and other relevant information to see an estimate of what your child support payments could be.

Remember that no matter the figure found through this calculator, it is only valuable as a starting-off point for you and your California child support lawyer in reaching a parental agreement.

What Do CA Child Support Lawyers Do?

CA child support lawyers have difficult jobs that require mastery of a number of skills. Most are trained in general family law and can also handle divorce proceedings, filling for spousal payments and related complaints. However, you may want to find specifically a CA child support lawyer because of the unique tasks demanded by child support law. You’re not, of course, ever required to hire a lawyer to handle a child support case, but here are a few of the things that a CA child support lawyer will do for you:

• Properly calculating child support: As we’ve seen, child support can be calculated via a calculator and inputing various income and tax factors. However, just like with filing for taxes, concentrated knowledge of the particular laws is greatly rewarded. CA child support lawyers know all about the specific deductions and add-ons created by the California child support system to help parents like you.

• Negotiating child support: Calculating is only half the work in reaching a child support agreement. Much of the rest comes with convincing the other party to accept a child support calculation similar to your own. CA child support lawyers are trained in the art of negotiation and can help you get a more beneficial child support order than would otherwise be possible.

• Dealings with the court: Be it talking with the judge and explaining your side of the story or writing complicated appeals and filling out forms, the best people for handling the CA justice system are the people who make their living navigating it, like CA child support lawyers.

Changing a Child Support Order

One of the most vital services that CA child support lawyers will provide is assistance with changing an out of date child support order. As we’ve seen, child support is calculated with a complex formula dependent on many factors, factors that can and do change over time. Here are some of the more common reasons to seek a change in a child support order:

1. Income disparity has grown or decreased: If the obligor can afford to pay more for their child, or the obligee can take more of the burden then before, this is reason enough for redress.

2. Loss of employment: This may seem obvious, especially as a consequence of the first factor, but it’s worth mentioning since CA child support law doesn’t automatically take job loss into consideration. If you lose your job, contact a California child support lawyer right away and file to modify your payments. All the time you spend not filing for modification, you will be liable for the original child support amount.

3. Custody percentage has changed: Child support is dependent on more than the money earned by both parents. Another element is how much time a parent spends with the child. If a child goes from occasional visits with the obligor to shared custody, this can even cancel a child support order.

4. New children: Obviously, if the obligor has another child with the obligee, they will be required to support the new child. However, if the obligee has another child with another partner, the obligor may also need to increase their child support payments since the obligee will be able to pay for less than they once could have.